At the rear, there's a hint of a roof spoiler nestling under a strip of black tape, and most of the brightwork (bar the door handles) from the 500 is dechromed, replaced by body coloured red or black trim. Does it work? To our eyes, yes - the 500 Abarth looks sharp and purposeful and, above all, fun. Just what a sporting 500 should be.
The red paint on this prototype is telling; Fiat is planning an unparalleled range of colours inside and out for the new 500, with the hope of surpassing Mini's extensive choice of personalisation. So expect lots of scope for tailoring your 500 to your exact whim. Fiat has used online microsites to gauge fans' interest in picking wild options and decals, so expect some pretty wacky toys with which to spec your car.
If the new Fiat 500 is one of the most intriguing new cars of 2007, this must be one of the highlights of next year: the Abarth version of Fiat's latest retro supermini, aimed squarely at the fashionable Mini set.
Spies were at the Nurburgring in Germany when Fiat's engineers took this prototype out for testing.
At the rear, there's a hint of a roof spoiler nestling under a strip of black tape, and most of the brightwork (bar the door handles) from the 500 is dechromed, replaced by body coloured red or black trim. Does it work? To our eyes, yes - the 500 Abarth looks sharp and purposeful and, above all, fun. Just what a sporting 500 should be.
The red paint on this prototype is telling; Fiat is planning an unparalleled range of colours inside and out for the new 500, with the hope of surpassing Mini's extensive choice of personalisation. So expect lots of scope for tailoring your 500 to your exact whim. Fiat has used online microsites to gauge fans' interest in picking wild options and decals, so expect some pretty wacky toys with which to spec your car.